Freakbob / Freakybob

About

Freakbob or Freakybob, also written as 𝓕𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓴𝓫𝓸𝓫 or 𝓕𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓴𝔂𝓫𝓸𝓫, refers to a Freaky version of SpongeBob SquarePants most often shown calling the viewer in image macros and videos, presented as Freakbob Is Calling or Freakybob Is Calling. The Papyrus Irony and Hood Irony meme went viral on Instagram, TikTok and Twitter / X throughout 2024. In June 2024, the Freakbob calling screen often interrupted slow fade-in videos with wholesome dog memes.

Origin

On December 30th, 2023, Instagram^[1] users @softwareupdateios and @splongebob posted a meme with Papyrus font showing a phone screen getting a call from "Freaky Bob 👅." The post received over 65,400 likes in six months (shown below).

The meme was a logical progression from the precursor SpongeBob Hello Bro memes and one meme that showed a phone screen getting a call from "spongebob on molly," dating as far back as April 2023 via iFunny^[2] posts. Instagram^[3] user @splongebob was posting "spongebob on molly" around the same time as the "Freaky Bob 👅" meme.

Spread

Going into early 2024, memes using Freakybob surfaced en masse. For instance, on January 24th, 2024, X^[4] user @fionaisurfriend tweeted a screenshot of another account named "Freakybob," humorously criticizing it (and Freaky memes in general) by sarcastically writing, "this account is about to take off! I bet!" gaining over 6,900 likes in five months (shown below, left).

On April 5th, Instagram^[5] user @freeakbob posted a two-panel meme showing "Freakbob" calling and the question, "Would you answer???" Over two months, the post gained roughly 36,300 likes (shown below, right).

On April 13th, 2024, TikToker^[6] @lolkzfn posted a Slow Fade-In video that used the aforementioned meme, adding the song "Pick Up the Phone" by Travis Scott and Young Thug as the audio, gaining over 414,500 plays and 67,400 likes in two months (shown below, left).

Going into mid-2024, creators started using the Freakbob screenshot to interrupt slow fade-in memes, evident in a video posted by TikToker^[7] @relatable.tay on June 10th that received over 1.4 million plays and 347,800 likes in two days (shown below, right).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References